From [early draft legislative texts on GMOs in the EU], it is clear that the intentions were to have an evolving and increasingly trait-oriented regulatory framework taking into account technical developments, potential safe history of use as well as potential benefits resulting from the application of these techniques and their resulting products. However, despite nearly three decades of research, product development, demonstrated benefits and a lack of demonstrated risks associated with recombinant nucleic acids per se, the GMO regulatory framework in the EU has neither evolved nor been implemented as intended.
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[T]he regulatory framework for GMOs in the EU, and its implementation, has deviated considerably from the original intentions three decades ago when the fields of recombinant nucleic acid techniques and cross-species gene transfer were still relatively new in research and commercial applications. Given the experienced benefits of GMO applications, the safe history of use and the technical progress in the field of gene technologies, it is imperative to bring the GMO regulatory framework back in line with the original intentions and provide for a more trait- and benefit-oriented interpretation.Read full, original post: Recovering the Original Intentions of Risk Assessment and Management of Genetically Modified Organisms in the European Union
